Tag Archives: leonardo dicaprio

Beautiful, Gritty ‘Revenant’ Is 2015’s Best

The_Revenant_2015_film_posterI think this is it. I think Leo will finally get his Oscar.

“The Revenant” stars Leonardo DiCaprio as 1820’s frontiersman Hugh Glass, who after being mauled by a grizzly bear is abandoned by his fur trading company (Tom Hardy and Will Poulter). Glass then sets out on a path of revenge against the men who left him for dead. Alejandro G. Iñárritu, who won the Oscar for Best Director for last year’s “Birdman,” directs here.

Obviously Leo is a fan favorite for everyone, but he is my personal favorite actor, and as a fanboy of cinematography, having Emmanuel Lubezki, who shot the breathtaking “Gravity” and the amazing “all-one-take” “Birdman” (winning Oscars for both), got me excited. However there was a lot of behind-the-scenes drama, including problems with location shooting and numerous crew members quitting/getting fired, resulting in the budget ballooning from $60 million to $135 million and shooting lasting until this past August instead of the planned March. Production problems doomed “Fantastic Four” earlier this year, so was “The Revenant” another victim? No. Not even close. Because “The Revenant” is the most beautifully shot film possibly of all-time, is 2015’s best films, and may finally give Leo the statue that has so long evaded him.

Right off the bat, this is a fantastic, masterfully shot film that somehow manages to be both gorgeous and gritty at the same time. Set in in the early 19th century American wilderness, there is plenty to behold. At several points the film shows the majesty and massive scale of the world we live in, and my jaw hit the floor. What is all the more impressive is this this was filmed with all natural light, giving the film a more genuine feel. If you know anything about filmmaking, you know how insane it is to shoot without using studio lights; if you aren’t familiar with film, allow me to tell you how absolutely insane it is to shoot without using studio lights.

There are also numerous one-take scenes including the five-minute bear attack sequence, which is one of the most intense and gritty things ever put on film. Lubezki will win his third straight Oscar, so sorry, Roger Deakins, looks like you’re going to have to wait another year to win yours (he’s currently 0-12, likely 0-13 after hopefully getting a nod for “Sicario”).

The acting here is top-notch. DiCaprio doesn’t have too much dialogue, and spends much of the film crawling around and lying next to campfires. But it is those physically demanding crawls, and well as all the sympathetic or painful emotions conveyed through his eyes that quietly makes this possibly the top performance of his career. Supporting actors Tom Hardy, Will Poulter, and Domhnall Gleeson all turn in career performances as well and more than hold their own with DiCaprio, although much of DiCaprio’s scenes are him on his own, eating raw bison meat or climbing inside of a horse for warmth.

There really aren’t any glaring problems with “The Revenant.” The plot itself is pretty straightforward but it is engaging nonetheless, although there is one subplot (won’t say what it is to avoid spoilers) that adds probably 10-plus minutes to the 156 minute runtime, and in the end of the day it does nothing to alter the narrative or outcome.

“The Revenant” isn’t something you pop in and watch on a Saturday afternoon with your friends, but it is a fantastic film, and it seems all the behind-the-scenes drama that Alejandro G. Iñárritu caused in his strive for perfection paid off. “The Revenant” demands your viewership with its gripping performances and breathtaking cinematography, and hopefully is the final push DiCaprio needed to finally bring home Oscar gold.

Critics Rating: 9/10

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Variety

2014 Oscar Predictions

The 2014 Oscars are right around the corner, so here are my thoughts on who I want to win (SHOULD WIN) and who all signs point towards winning (WILL WIN) for the 6 main Oscar categories.

BEST PICTURE

For all intents and purposes, this is a two horse race between “12 Years a Slave” and “Gravity”. “American Hustle” has an outside chance of squeaking in, but the Academy will probably choose between the visually stunning “Gravity” and the historically important “12 Years”. Regardless of who wins Best Pictu12_Years_a_Slave_film_posterres, both films will win multiple awards Sunday night. “Wolf of Wall Street” and “Captain Phillips” were my top two favorite films from 2013, but they are either too controversial or too under-publicized to stand a chance here. Also if “12 Years” wins, it will be Brad Pitt’s first Oscar win, so that would be cool.

Should Win: Captain Phillips

Will Win: 12 Years a Slave

Best Director

I personally feel Paul Galfonsoreengrass was snubbed for “Captain Phillips”, but it wouldn’t have mattered much, because it is pretty much a lock that Alfonso Cuarón will win for “Gravity”. If you watch any of the behind the scenes for the film, he had so much to do with creating the most visually stunning film ever (Avatar be darned). Steve McQueen could win for “12 Years a Slave” because of the emotional toll of that film, but honestly this would be an upset if anyone other than Cuarón wins.

Should Win: Alfonso Cuarón

Will Win: Alfonso Cuarón

Best Actor

This is by and far the tightest race in any category in Oscar history. Tom Hanks didn’t receive a nomination foractor “Captain Phillips”, yet he wasn’t snubbed; that’s how great this year’s nominations are. The leaders, however, are Matthew McConaughey for “Dallas Buyers Club”, Chiwetel Ejiofor for “12 Years a Slave” and Leonardo DiCaprio for “The Wolf of Wall Street”. Christian Bale (“American Hustle”) and Bruce Dern (“Nebraska”) both gave great performances, but it would still be a small shock if they won. McConaughey has done an amazing job turning his career around from the awful rom-coms and was phenomenal in “Dallas”. Ejiofor had such a large range of emotions in “12 Years”. And DiCaprio went all in with “Wall Street” and may deserve to win simply because he has been snubbed by the Academy for near 2 decades now. It will be close, but in the end I think the actor with the most physically demanding role will win, and that goes to McConaughey, who lost 38 pounds.  

Should Win: Leonardo DiCaprio

Will Win: Matthew McConaughey

Best Supporting Actor

Much like Best Picture, this is pretty much going to come down between 2 nominees: Jared Leto (“Dallas Buyers Club”) and Barkhad Abdi (“Captain Phillips”). 2-time nominated guys Bradley Cooper (“American Hustle”) and Jonah Hill (“Wolf of Wall Street”) will have to try their luck again actor2another year, and despite being memorizing in “12 Years a Slave” Michael Fassbender has denounced the Academy after getting snubbed for “Shame” several years back, effectively knocking him out of contention. Between Leto and Abdi, Leto has the slight edge because his role was extremely demanding in several categories (he played a cross-dresser, lost 40 pounds and got his arms and legs waxed). As fantastic as Leto is, however, I personally would love to see Adbi win, giving “Phillips” it’s likely only win of the night. Plus he had never acted before this role; the guy was driving limos. That would be a crazy rags-to-riches story.

Should Win: Barkhad Adbi

Will Win: Jared Leto

Best Actress

Like many non-Academy members, I did not see Cate Blanchett in “Blue Jasmine”, but the buzz around Hollywood is she is a lock to win. She has essentially swept every award this year. Sandra actressBullock (“Gravity”) and Judi Dench (“Philomena”) both gave great performances, but this just isn’t their year. And if Meryl Streep wins for “August: Osage County” I am pretty sure everyone watching the TV will groan and throw up. The only person who can challenge Blanchett is Amy Adams, and it is for the same reason DiCaprio stands a chance: she’s a 5-time nominated, no time winning actor. The Academy may feel bad if Adams goes home empty handed for a fifth time, and as much as I would love the overrated “Hustle” to not win a single award on Sunday night, I think Adams deserves a trophy for once.

Should Win: Amy Adams

Will Win: Cate Blanchett

Best Supporting Actress

I am going to begin by saying Jennifer Lawrence doesn’t deserve her nomination and was nominated for the same reason Meryl Streep was: because of her name being credited in a movie. That being said, everyone in Hollywood does not agree with me, as Lawrence has won the BAFTA and Golden Globe this year for “American Hustle”. She has two real competitors: June Squibb (“Nebraska”) and Lupita Nyong’o (“12 Years a Slave”). I thought Squibb was the best part of “Nebraska”; she was funny, angry and honest, often all at once. Nyong’o did a good job stirring up emotion in her role, and stands the best chance of beating Lawrence from sweeping the Big 3 awards. I really don’t know how this one will go; my gut says Lawrence, my logic says Nyong’o and my heart says Squibb. As long as Lawrence doesn’t win I’ll be happy, but deep down I fell I’m going to be disappoinlupita-jennifer-600x450ted come Sunday night.

Should Win: June Squibb

Will Win: Jennifer Lawrence…or Lupita Nyong’o, I really truthfully haven’t a clue.

‘Wolf of Wall Street’ Immense Irrelevant Fun

WallStreet2013poster

Imagine if Patrick Bateman and Gordon Gekko had a love child, and then that child was raised by Charlie Sheen. You would end up with Jordan Belfort, the main character from Martin Scorsese’s new film “The Wolf of Wall Street”. Based on the true story, Leonardo DiCaprio stars as Belfort, a young Wall Street stockbroker who gets caught up in illegal trading and federal corruption.

Leonardo DiCaprio has had a fantastic career, and the man is not even 40 years old. The one thing he does not have is an Oscar. When most people hear that they are shocked because he is such a big name, but it is true. We live in a world where Nicolas Cage and Eminem have Oscar trophies, and Leonardo DiCaprio doesn’t. I’ll let that sink in for a second…

If DiCaprio doesn’t win the Oscar for Best Actor for his portrayal of Belfort, the little faith I have left in the Academy will be lost. He gives everything he has to the role, leaving nothing on the table or the viewer’s imagination. Whether he is giving an inspirational speech to the members of his firm or on a bad drug trip, he is a blast to watch. Belfort is an awful human being and does some despicable things, but we can’t help but like the guy. His charisma and charm are simply too much, and much like Belfort can sell anything to anyone, DiCaprio sells us the character.

Every other actor in the movie is phenomenal as well, the two standouts being Jonah Hill and Matthew McConaughey. Hill continues to venture outside the realm of comedy, first with “Moneyball” and now in “Wolf”. He has great chemistry as DiCaprio’s right hand man and much like DiCaprio he dedicates himself to the character (to the point of eating a live goldfish).

McConaughey, who had himself a remarkable 2013 that included a Golden Globe and probable Oscar nomination for “Dallas Buyers Club”, plays Belfort’s mentor. He has a monologue early in the film that was as funny as it was brilliant. Credit to the writer Terrence Winter for putting the words on paper but it is McConaughey that just made those words come alive. I really wish he had been in the movie more because he was honestly my favorite character.

The movie clocks in at 3 hours long, but unlike things such as The Hobbit trilogy, it earns and warrants that run time. There wasn’t a second I was not entertained for one reason or another, and at no point did I look at my phone to check the time. There may have been a few scenes that ran a little long, but I never got mad at the film or felt like it was deliberately wasting my time.

Now this film is not for everyone. Not only does it have that running time of 3 hours, but it almost earned an NC-17 rating. There is an incredible amount of sex, drugs and language; in fact the movie officially holds the record for most f-words in a non-documentary with 414 uses. Many of these obscene occurrences are crucial to the plot and are an accurate portrayal of Belfort’s life, and it is debauchery at its highest form, however the easily offended may want to avoid from the film.

It is worth mentioning that the film’s first third was perfect. I love movies about beginnings and origins, so seeing Belfort build his corrupt company from scratch was immensely entertaining. The rest of the film is very good, too, albeit for completely different reasons.

There really is nothing “The Wolf of Wall Street” gets wrong aside from its pushy running time and slight tone issues. DiCaprio gives one of the best performances of his shining career, and all the supporting cast add in some big laughs and entertaining pieces of dialogue. Scorsese does a good job capturing all the irrelevancy on camera and it is one of my favorite films by him. I really don’t want to ruin anything more about what this movie is, so much like a stockbroker you are just going to have to take me by my word on this.

Critics Rating: 9/10